Micromax case: Man wins in consumer court

Uppal, Hyderabad, resident N. Ram Babu has won his case at the Hyderabad consumer forum against Micromax for supplying a defective LED TV and not fixing it during the warranty period and overcharging him.

Mr Ram Babu purchased a 32-inch Micromax LED TV from Koti, Hyderabad, on March 16, 2015. Within six months, the TV started giving trouble. Small lines began to appear on the screen and the picture was distorted.

Mr Ram Babu said he immediately called the toll-free number mentioned in the official website of company. Micromax’s service personnel checked the TV, and left saying they would contact the complainant later.

After a week, they informed Mr Ram Babu that the problem arose because of physical damage to the TV. Despite repeated emails, Micromax and its authorised service dealer did not pay heed to the complainant.

They said they would not consider the complaint as the defect was caused by external damage and did not come under the warranty.

The forum noted that there was no physical damage to the product and it was an internal problem. Despite this, Micromax failing to rectify the defect under warranty showed that there was deficiency of service.

The forum directed the company to repair the TV free by replacing the parts if necessary and reimburse the costs incurred by the customer. The forum ordered a compensation of `2,000 to Mr Ram Babu along with `2,000 as costs. The forum noted that as manufacturers of electronic products, companies were expected to address consumers’ concerns as soon as possible and resolve issues within the warranty period and not cause a delay to get extra payment.